"It means a lot, especially last year losing in the state championship and this year coming to redeem ourselves," said Cole, a first-team all-state wide receiver.

In a matchup of the top two teams in the final Texas Association of Basketball Coaches small private school state rankings, No. 1 TC-Cedar Hill led No. 2 St. Thomas Episcopal just 28-27 at halftime. St. Thomas Episcopal, last season's TAPPS 3A state champion, scored 98 points in its semifinal win Friday night but was outscored 46-21 in the second half Saturday.

"We just needed to stay in our press and be patient and trap and pick up the extra effort," said Jarod Moss, in his first season as TC-Cedar Hill's head coach after working as an assistant on last season's team. "We were so close, we could feel it."